Renegades gearing up for the new academic year

Good morning, Bakersfield.
It is Saturday, August 17, 2019… A great day to be a Renegade.

2019 Football Media Day

From Mayor Karen Goh’s FB post

For the third consecutive year we celebrated the start of the upcoming football season with media day out at Memorial Stadium. This year the event focused on the new field turf and track that were installed over the course of the summer, thanks to Measure J funding. Our community support was in full force as we welcomed Mayor Goh, KCCD Trustee Romeo Agbalog, Chancellor Tom Burke, BPD Chief Martin, KHSD Administrator (and former Renegade QB) Stan Greene, President of the Condors Matt Riley and a host of others who were able to see the new field for the first time in-person. The new field looks spectacular and we can’t wait to welcome Mt. SAC into Memorial Stadium for the first home football game on Saturday, Sept. 7th at 6pm. It’s not too late to get your season tickets by visiting Vallittix.com or calling 661-322-5200. Go Gades!

Sandi Taylor, Athletics Director.

Coach Jeff Chudy

Trustee Romeo Agbalog and me

Vance Palm (MC)

Mayor Karen Goh

Chad Manning, Tom Burke, Stan Greene

Ed Davis, Tom Burke, Jeff Chudy

Enjoyed looking at 2018 pictures and comparing it to 2019. My hair is a lot longer 🙂 I got most of the photos from Mayor Goh’s Facebook page. Thank you mayor!

2019 Media Day

2018 Media Day

2019 Media Day

2018 Media Day

Thank you Brandon Urry for pulling off another great Media Day. You are an amazing addition to the BC team.

Sonya Christian, Brandon Urry

“Real Star of BC football media day? The new turf.”

Loved waking up to this headline, by Robert Price, on the front page of The Bakersfield Californian, below the fold.

Last week construction work at the Bakersfield College Memorial Stadium shifted to being done overnight in order for W2W Sport Flooring workers to avoid the daytime extreme heat conditions. Construction work is 8:00 p.m. through 8:00 a.m. during the regular work week throughout the month of August. Bakersfield College greatly appreciates the neighborhood’s cooperation during this time, and its understanding of the necessary measures taken to avoid heat exhaustion. The health and safety of the construction employees is of the utmost importance to both Bakersfield College and W2W Sport Flooring.

Renegade Football at Downtown Rotary

BC was showing its pride at this week’s Downtown Rotary meeting! Head football coach Jeff Chudy spoke about the upcoming season and the toughness of the Renegade team — both physically and mentally. Zach Hartsfield #88 was in attendance; not only is Zach a stellar player, but he also maintains a 3.0G PA at BC!

Me with Renegade Zach Hartsfield

Head Football Coach Jeff Chudy and Dr. Sarabjeet Singh

Sonya Christian and Jeff Chudy

Opening Day is Next Week!

It’s almost here, our annual campus Opening Day will take place on Thursday, August 22, 2019 in the Indoor Theater. Remember, this is the only day of the year that we close the campus to students and the public to ensure that all employees can come together in community to participate in this all-day event. For this year’s Opening Day, we have also invited community leaders to address our campus. This is my seventh Opening Day as president and my seventh State of the College. I cannot be prouder of BC!

Logistics team: Dylan, Earl, Eric, Aricia, Monika, Kevin, & Kristin

We have new managers, we have new classified, and we have new faculty. What better way to welcome them to the Home of the Renegades than a grand Opening Day.

Besides the annual State of the College address and hearing from constituent leaders Tina Johnson, CSEA; Ann Tatum, CCA; Steven Holmes, Academic Senate, and Manny Mourtzanos, Management Association, we should all look forward to hearing from our insightful community panelists.

On BC’s Health Equity and Learning initiative, we will hear from Adventist Health’s CEO Sharlet Briggs, Dignity Health’s CEO Ken Keller, and Centric Health’s Physician Partner Dr. Jeet Singh. To share more about our partnership with high schools and its impact in the community, Senator Jean Fuller will be moderating a panel with Barbara Grimm, founder of Grimmway Academy, Aaron Resendez, Superintendent of McFarland Unified School District, and Myka Peck, Principal of Garces High School.

You will hear from our winners of the Margaret Levinson Leadership Award and the Shirley Trembley Teaching Award, Kimberly Nickell, Helen Acosta, and Regina Hukill. We will also hear from Reggie Williams and Susan Pinza about the Levan Center and the Levan Institute.

It is an exciting time to be a Renegade. Here’s to a great 2019-2020 year at Bakersfield College!

Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 2019 Energy and Ag Academy

Last week 50 students graduated from the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 2019 Energy and Ag Academy. The event honored students who participated in the summer program to learn about Kern County’s largest industries, energy and agricultural, and how these industries both feed and power the world.

The graduating class includes students from local high schools, Bakersfield College, California State University of Bakersfield and Fresno State. The academy was sponsored by Aera Energy, Bakersfield College, Chevron, Kern Energy Foundation and California Resources Corporation.

Check out the group photo in b/w:

The summer program included speakers in the energy and ag industries, field trips to local energy and ag facilities, leadership opportunities, meeting with elected officials, and financial scholarships.

“Students and staff pushed through the most challenging season to date both on and off the field,” Heasley said. “The corps faced adversity with a sense of determination. They return home with the true grit needed to face the next challenge, whatever it may be.”

Follow the Golden Empire Drum and Bugle Corps’ adventures throughout the year:

BC’s Guided Pathways Team on the Road

A Bakersfield College team traveled to Long Beach this week to present to Compton College faculty, staff, and administrators on our Guided Pathways implementation with a focus on our Completion Coaching Communities as a way to advance equitable student achievement and completion. Compton College invited BC to present as they develop their very own version of completion coaching which they are calling their “Tartar Success Teams.”

The team shared with me what an honor it was to participate in Compton’s early implementation and to learn about the remarkable work Compton College is doing to re-energize their college campus and serve the students in their community.

HVAC Lab Delano

Check out the newest pics of Delano’s HVAC Lab, made possible by funding secured in 2018 by Assembly Member Rudy Salas!

The lab is now finished, and will be ready for students to use this Fall. This hands-on facility will serve Renegades interested in this high demand career field!

You can read when I announced the unveiling of our HVAC Tech Program in my October 21, 2018 blog. The Bakersfield College Delano Campus unveiled its new HVAC Tech program and broke ground for the new facility on October 15, 2018 with a projected completion by Summer 2019. This program is a part of Bakersfield College’s Rural Initiatives, which target BC’s surrounding communities to equip more residents with workforce skills through college education. The funding for this program comes from the monies secured by Assemblyman Rudy Salas in the 2018-2019 state budget. And thank you Trustee Romeo Agbalog for your passion and support of North Kern communities.

Groundbreaking October 15, 2018

Grant to Alleviate Food Insecurity Among BC Students

Bakersfield College’s Renegade Pantry has received a $20,000 grant from the Kern Partnership for Children and Families to further alleviate food insecurity among college students.

The Renegade Pantry is fortunate to receive contributions from BC staff and the greater Bakersfield community. Donations enable pantry staff to provide groceries to students in need. Learn more about donating to the Bakersfield College Renegade Pantry on our website or contact The Office of Student Life at (661) 395-4355.

Thank you Nicky Damania for all that you do for BC and our students.

Veterans Mentorship Program

On Friday, August 2, Bakersfield College Veteran Services and the Chevron SJV Veterans Network kicked off the first ever Chevron SJV Veterans Network-Bakersfield College Student Veterans Mentorship Program at Rosa’s Italian Restaurant. The program is designed to assist STEM-minded student-veterans with mentorship guidance from Chevron engineers and other Chevron employees who are also veterans. This is a timely program considering that the new Forever GI Bill now offers the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship, providing up to nine months of additional Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits to qualifying veterans seeking an undergraduate STEM degree.

The SI Fab FourHelp me if you can; my grades are down!

I’ll bet you didn’t know that BC’s Supplemental Instruction, otherwise known as SI, has its very own team of Mentors each semester. The newest group of SI Mentors for Fall 2019, Oscar Hernandez, Alejandra Hernandez, Debbie Stapp, Hunter Pentico, and their Program Manager Eileen Pierce planned out the 7 Mentor Meetings that they will facilitate as they train the incoming crop of 24 brand new SI Leaders, many of whom have very little experience with public speaking and certainly no real experience with teaching.

Last Express Enrollment of the Summer

Students at the Panorama Campus had one last chance to register for their classes on Thursday during the last Express Enrollment event on the main campus before the start of the fall semester.

Representatives from Outreach and School Relations gave students a brief orientation of BC’s programs of study in the Forum before moving over to the Computer Commons area in the library for hands-on assistance with registration for the Fall semester.

There will be two more Express Enrollment events targeting rural Kern County students at the Job Spot on 1501 Panama Lane on Monday at 3 p.m. and the Wasco Adult Education Center on Wednesday at 4 p.m. I would like to thank everyone on the Outreach Team for all that they do to help our students clarify and enter the pathway to their education.

Fun Photos

Enrollment Services Retreat

Last week, Enrollment Services, including the staff of Admissions and Records and Testing and Placement Center, participated in their annual retreat. Special Guest Stephanie Baltazar trained them on “Dealing with Difficult People Having Hard Conversations.” The retreat was a day of team bonding and customer service training.

Enrollment Services Team

Stephanie Baltazar

Michelle Pena

Michelle and Jackie Lau

The Last Summer Bridge 2019

Todd’s Vacation

This year the Coston family went camping in the Sequoia National Forest at the Lower Peppermint Creek campground. The area is close by, and a nice respite from the hot weather during Bakersfield summers. Todd and Cari enjoying the view at Dome Rock.

One of the hikes was to a beautiful waterfall that is a part of Peppermint Creek.

Part of the adventure is to get the adrenaline going by jumping into natural pools.

Last Year’s Vacation Photo

Bill Potter, Tamara Baker and Todd Coston were busy preparing this week for their Opening Day presentation on Measure J.

As you might remember, they took a “vacation” last year, so who knows what they have planned this time!

Library’s Statue

Check out the statue on the second floor of the library! Someone is enjoying the last days of summer.

Stadium Photography

MPR’s Dylan taking pictures of the Stadium.

Athletics Update

Congrats to Anieus Medrano

Renegade Men’s Basketball standout Anieus Medrano announced this week that he will be continuing his academic and athletic career at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Anieus played here at BC for two years under head coach Rich Hughes and is now the 44th student athlete from this year to sign with a four-year school. We wish you all the best at UTEP Anieus and continued success in your future endeavors.

2019 Spring Student Athlete Honor Roll

The annual Renegade Athletics Spring Honor Roll has been released for 2019. A huge congratulations goes out to all the student athletes on the distinction of being named to the list. We had 56 student athletes named Distinguished Scholars (3.5-4.0 GPA) and 62 that were named Outstanding Scholars (3.0-3.49 GPA). View the full list of names in the release on GoGades.